Time to talk: There's more than one subject, but it is a discussion we need

No one who watched the horror of Friday's shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut could possibly come away with anything except extreme sorrow -- and a determination to do anything in our power to make sure it does not happen again.

The truth is, we can't guarantee that. All the regulations, new rules and laws in the world will not stop a crazy person from picking up a gun and carrying out just this sort of atrocity. That is just the reality.

But there are some discussions to be had -- reasonable, thoughtful and timely ones.

They do not need to involve politics or party lines. And they need to happen sooner rather than later.

There is a debate to be had -- and topics to be covered. But to do so, we must be willing to talk about all the subjects -- not just the obvious one about the right way to handle the availability of guns and how to keep them out of the hands of troubled people. This issue is much, much deeper than that.

It is particularly hard to deal with an issue like this at Christmas, a time of peace and love.

But we owe to the 26 people who died Friday -- and others who have met similar fates -- to start talking, and soon.